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After an 0-2 start to his first season as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Urban Meyer told fans of the team to go to sleep knowing nobody would be working harder than he and his group to turn the season around.
So it seems only fitting that Meyer, who appeared to do very little to try to turn things around after that comment, was fired last night while everyone in Jacksonville was sound asleep.
The fixing has finally begun.
Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan did the right thing and canned the man he signed to a 5-year deal after just 13 games into his first season. That’s right – the guy who had so much success at the college level couldn’t even make it one full year in the NFL. Not only that, but his brief run of trying to lead professionals was constantly marred by embarrassing acts by Meyer, both on and off the field.
Because of all that, it’s safe and correct to say that Meyer is one of the worst coaches in NFL history.
Let’s look at all the things that make that true, and forgive me if I leave anything out because boy did Meyer do A LOT of bad things in his short run with the big boys.
– Meyer hired a strength and conditioning coach who had parted ways with the University of Iowa after accusations of racism and bullying emerged. Meyer could have hired any strength and conditioning coach in the world and he chose Chris Doyle, saying he vetted him and all was good. Well, all was not good and Doyle quickly tendered his resignation.
– Meyer and the Jags used the 25th pick of the NFL draft on former Clemson running back Travis Etienne. The Jags already had James Robinson, a very good running back, and could have used that pick in a number of different ways. Just a total waste of a pick for the team.
– Meyer signed Tim Tebow to a one-year deal and let his former Florida QB try to make the team as a tight end. Tebow seems like a nice guy but bringing in a 34-year-old dude who hadn’t played in the league in nine years and never played tight end before was one of the most baffling things I’ve ever seen in professional football. I don’t know how anyone in the locker room took Meyer seriously after that.
– Meyer had Trevor Lawernce compete for the starting job with Gardner Minshew throughout the preseason when Lawrence could have been taking more snaps while getting ready for his rookie season. Instead, he got off to a slow start when the season began and has yet to play up to his potential, mostly because of his former head coach.
– Meyer got blown out by a very bad Texans team in Week 1.
– Meyer threw an assistant coach under the bus after Robinson wasn’t on the field for a 4th and goal from the 1 yard line, saying he doesn’t micromanage the game. Well, that’s a head coach’s job, duh.
– Meyer had that night in a Columbus bar where he lied about being dragged out onto a dance floor by a group of people who he didn’t know that well. The photos told a different story and showed the coach inappropriately touching a younger woman who was not his wife.
– That night in the bar came after Meyer let his team fly home without him from Cincinnati after a loss on Thursday Night Football. He didn’t fly home with his team! That’s just not something you ever see a NFL coach do, especially one who claimed he would be working harder than anyone to turn things around.
– Meyer had his team attempt an onside kick late in a loss to Seattle which the Seahawks promptly returned for a TD.
– Meyer reportedly called out his assistants for not being winners ever in their lives.
– Meyer allegedly kicked the team’s former kicker, Josh Lambo. Meyer denied doing that just a few hours before he was fired.
– Meyer’s offense had three games in which they didn’t have over 200 total yards, which was a new franchise record.
– Meyer’s No. 1 pick, Trevor Lawrence, has thrown 1 TD pass in his last six games.
– Meyer won just 2 games with the Jaguars.
All of that happened in LESS THAN A YEAR.
That’s a lot and there’s likely more but again, you get the gist of it – Meyer was a bad NFL coach who did a lot of terrible things during his short time in Jacksonville.
It didn’t take long for Meyer to show the world that he isn’t good enough to lead professional adults. He failed time and again in trying to do that and made it easy for all of us to see just how much of a petulant child he can be when he’s unable to control the bad things he’s created.
There are other coaches in NFL history who have had short stints and fewer wins but I’ll put Meyer’s pathetic 13-game run up there right at the top. It was bad. Very bad. All of it.
I mean, just think of how bad you have to be as a head coach in the NFL to not even make it through a complete season, especially after the franchise broke open the bank to bring you on board. It’s mind-boggling. Well, until someone tells you it was Urban Meyer, because then it becomes totally understandable.
Meyer was the worst and now, thankfully, he’s gone.
Quick hits: The one man Jags’ fans want to take over… LeBron’s incredible block… Travis Hunter shocks college football world… And more.
– Now that Meyer is out, Jags fans have one guy they want to take over and it seems to make absolute sense. – You need to see how high LeBron James jumped to block a shot last night in Dallas. Wow.
– Watch the moment Travis Hunter shocked the college football world and picked Jackson State on signing day.
– Here are the biggest names on the NBA’s trade market.
– Steph Curry is the best.
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